Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a balustrade for passenger conveyors, such as, for example, escalators, and so-called moving sidewalks.
A balustrade for passenger conveyors generally includes a handrail adapted to be moved synchronously with an endlessly moving stairway or conveyor belt, with the balustrade including, panels composed of transparent glass plates provided immediately under the handrail, an upper unit provided between upper ends of the transparent panels and a lower surface of the handrail adapted to guide the handrail, and a lower unit provided at a lower end of the transparent panels and composed of inner and outer decks.
The relative dimensions between the principal elements in known balustrades is that the width of the handrail frame constituting the upper unit is about 2-3 times that of the handrail, and projects inward and outward beyond the side ends of the handrail by about 10-50 mm.
Demand has recently increased for a conventional balustrade for passenger conveyors, of the type described above but which has been modified to a non-illuminated, more energy-saving design.
However, when a passenger conveyor having a conventional balustrade is operated without internal illumination in the balustrade, the room illumination, e.g. ceiling lights, is inadequate because the moving steps or conveyor belt are in the shadow of the balustrade.
A disadvantage of the previously proposed conventional balustrades resides in the fact that when a small child places his hand on the handrail, the child's wrist could contact the inward projecting part of the handrail frame causing injury. Also, it is likely that a child's foot could slip into a gap between the skirt guard and the steps when the foot comes in contact with the skirt guard of the conveyor.
A further disadvantage of this kind of balustrade is that fine powder abraded from the handrail accumulates on the upper handrail surface. This feels unpleasant and is likely to soil the passenger's clothes and hands.
A balustrade for passenger conveyors, in which these safety and designing problems are solved by employing a handrail frame having no parts that project inward or outward beyond the side ends of the handrail, and by providing transparent panels immediately under the handrail, has been proposed. However, in this proposed balustrade, the step-lighting problem cannot be solved due to the opaque handrail frame between the handrail and the transparent panels.
Moreover, the opaque handrail frame between the handrail and the transparent panels detracts from the simplicity of the balustrade design.